Monday, October 29, 2007

Tomah I (Myrna Loy Center Show): Tilth


[Label:] Tilth is the structure of the soil, seen in the stratigraphy of the earth beneath our feet, like layers of a cake. We start reading from the oldest layer, which is buried deepest, at the bottom, and then work our way up. In this example, the oldest layer is "Nuxe" (NOO-khay: ice), laid down by the glaciers, and then "Ni" (NEE: water, the melting glaciers and erosion), then "Maya" (MAH-yah: the earth built up by the sunlight and decay of plants). Finally, the last layer includes the bodies of those ancestors, "Washige s’age" (WAH-shee-gay S-AH-gay) who have gone before. On top, as we grow our crops and make our city, do we remember the tilth of the soil, made by ages and the bodies of those who have gone on before us? The toy tractor emphasizes how transient and small we are in the scheme of things.

[Media: Wood and panel board; metal toy; acrylic]

2 comments:

Autumn Heartsong said...

Lance, I'm on the AODA public list and followed the link to your blog from there. I LOVE this piece! "Tilth" evokes for me the very essence of my father, his love for the land, and his humility and sense of awe when, each year he fed his family and neighbors from his humble gardens.

Beautiful work...

Linda/Heartsong

Lance M. Foster said...

Thank you Linda, I really appreciate your kind comment :-)

Lance